


Familiarity

by Sylthfarn



Category: Original Work
Genre: M/M, based on the webcomic familiar, non explicit sex scene, written for a friend as a gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:33:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28663242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylthfarn/pseuds/Sylthfarn
Summary: One is an overworked editor at a publishing house for books on magick. He doesn't need help, and he certainly doesn't practice magick anymore. But when he accidentally summons a familiar, he finds himself receiving the aid he didn't know he needed.
Relationships: Orange/Uno F. Trevor, Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	Familiarity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shunkleberryfin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shunkleberryfin/gifts).



> orange belongs to my lovely friend @birdsknight on twitter and he's also the one who wrote uno getting fucked by orange so i mean. there's that. also this was written as a gift for him ❤️

The office is mostly empty, with a majority of people going home  _ on time _ like they were  _ supposed to.  _ But that had never stopped One. His focus is solely on the manuscript in front of him, a signature frown on his face as he scribbles in corrections and suggestions in the margins. Between that and the rhythmic tapping of his pen as he continues reading, the office is silent. 

And yet he still doesn't notice when someone comes up behind him.

"Are you  _ still  _ working on that?" Kino asks, looking over his shoulder.

"Unfortunately," One says dryly, but he doesn't even pause to look up at her. Kino grimaces sympathetically. 

"How many revisions has it been now? This is the third one, right?"

"Well...with over 300 pages to edit, it's just been...taking a while. And getting Ms. Fischer to  _ agree _ to the changes…" One shrugs. "We'll get it there eventually."

"Oookay, but I think you're doing overtime again," Kino points out. She then looks back down at the page. "Eesh. This is...real bad."

"Uh huh."

"One...take a break. When's the last time you had a night to yourself? Some fun? C'mon." 

"This manuscript needs to be finished, I just got an email about  _ another  _ one." One leans back in his chair and stretches, hearing both his shoulders pop loudly. "I'll be working all night just to get this done and then start on the next one."

Kino gives him a concerned frown, and leans over his shoulder again to look at his computer.

"What's it about? Who's it from?" she asks.

"Uhh...something about familiars—summoning rituals, that sort of thing. I haven't really gotten the chance to even skim it yet, but... it's from Dr. Jasmine Kleinfeld so it should be better than…" One stares at the manuscript on his desk. "This."

"Promise me you'll take a break tonight before Ed kills you for overtime?" Kino says.

"Sure."

"...For some reason, I'm not convinced, One."

* * *

She had every reason to not believe him. The next morning, One slammed a finished manuscript of Lorraine Fischer's newest book (on sex magick no less), on his boss's desk.

"One…" Ed says hesitantly, staring at the manuscript. " _ Please  _ tell me you didn't do all of this last night."

"Don't worry about it," One says, waving away her concerns. "I have another manuscript to work on and if we don't get this out soon it'll fuck up our whole publishing schedule. Now, assuming Ms. Fischer accepts the changes, we'll be good to go. You can thank me later."

" _ I can't thank you if I can't afford to pay your damn overtime!"  _ Ed calls after him, but One's already left her office. 

His attention is now solely on the new manuscript. It's from a well known scholar in the witch world, and she's obviously put years of research into it. He knows familiars used to be more common back in the day, but now…

He shakes his head. He'd given up magick a long time ago. 

* * *

There were a few things One was good at, according to Kino (and his siblings): overworking himself, not knowing when to take breaks, and being an abysmal failure at maintaining a healthy work/life balance. He didn't exactly think they were  _ right _ , but now that he stares at the manuscript spread out over his bed… It was a good thing it was the weekend—so even if he managed to fall asleep on top of it (as usual), he wouldn't have to worry about being up early tomorrow. 

Still, it wasn't exactly a high priority of his to fall asleep in the middle of looking over summoning rituals for familiars.  _ And yet _ .

_ Maybe I have been working a bit much,  _ One thinks idly as he looks over the summoning circle.  _ A small break won't hurt, but I can do that after I finish with this manuscript. And that'll be… _

One doesn't remember falling asleep. Waking up, on the other hand, is a different story. An unfamiliar orange tabby is asleep on the bed next to him. 

"Ah, crap… Is this Three's cat…? Or maybe her girlfriend…" One mumbles out loud to himself, frantically trying to remember if he'd left a door or window open or if he'd made a promise to his sister to look after her cat at some point. It wasn't Iris, so that theory was right out...

His talking seems to wake the cat up, it stirs a bit, stretching before sitting down again and looking at him with a strange expression. As if it  _ knows _ something. One decides he doesn't think he's very fond of this cat.

"Hey, kitty...where did you come from? You have a collar, so you must belong to someone, right? Did Three drop you off while I was out?"

"You summoned me," the cat says simply, and One freezes. 

His gaze quickly moves from the cat to the manuscript he fell asleep on, and snaps right back to the cat.

"Oh no," One says. And then he faints. 

* * *

"...Hey. You awake yet? C'mon, open your eyes. Lemme know I didn't kill ya on the first day."

A voice draws One back to awareness, and he opens his eyes to see the orange tabby standing next to where he apparently passed out on the bed. 

"Oh good. You're alive," the tabby says, although it doesn't sound particularly pleased. (Though it doesn't sound  _ displeased  _ either.) 

"Who—what... you're? How?" One stammers, trying to regain his wits.

"I already toldja that. I'm a familiar. Ya summoned me, an' now I'm here to help ya with your magick," the cat explains.

"No. No, there's been a mistake, I fell asleep last night...I didn't  _ mean _ to summon you, I—"

"You  _ are  _ a witch, though, ain't ya?" the cat interrupts, looking somehow...a bit bored.

"I. No. Well,  _ yes _ , technically, but I haven't practiced magick since college."

That was something he preferred to leave to his siblings, in all honesty. 

"It doesn't matter. Either way, there's been a mistake. So you can just…" One half heartedly attempts to shoo the cat off his bed, but it doesn't move. Typical. 

"Sorry, sweetheart. No can do. The boss hand-picked me to be your familiar. Ya ain't gettin' ridda me that easy," the cat says, and it stretches, arching its back. "I specialize in clairvoyance an' sexual domination."

One blinks.  _ That  _ was a lot to unpack. Though to be fair, Kino had a point...he hadn't really taken a break and indulged in a romantic or sexual relationship since… Since… 

He'd prefer not to think about what happened with his ex. 

"So... what's your name?" One asks, trying and failing to wake himself up further by rubbing at his eyes. 

"Ya mean my true one? Or the name people call me by?" the cat asks. 

"I—both?"

"Well, to be honest it's kinda up t'you. Naming me binds me to this plane. So jus' call me whatever ya like."

One stares at the tabby with a thoughtful frown on his face. After a moment or two of deliberation, he finally nods. 

"Orange."

"...You fuckin' suck at this." 

"Well  _ sorry _ ," One says, a bit defensively. As if he and his siblings weren't named after numbers—what did this cat  _ want _ from him? "I'm going to shower."

"Alright," says Orange, and he immediately jumps off the bed to follow One to the bathroom. 

One resists the urge to say anything else about Orange's "specialties," and he feels there isn't much point in arguing about the fact that he doesn't practice magick anymore. Still, he can't really think of any good reason for him to  _ have  _ a familiar, since he just worked as an editor nowadays. 

He's preparing for the shower (finally remembering way too late to take out the contact in his left eye), and turns back towards the door to close it, though he thinks he'd prefer to not have a cat (one this sentient) in the bathroom with him. 

"Ya got heterochromia," Orange suddenly comments, and One flinches reflexively.

"Wha—oh. Yes. Right. I do. It was...a result of magic when I was younger." His hand drifts subconsciously up to touch his face just below his left eye. He was so accustomed to wearing his colored contact, just so people wouldn't comment on it. 

"Hmm." Orange hums, but he doesn't say anything on the matter further. 

"So you're like...a spirit?" One asks, throwing his old clothes into the laundry hamper and stepping into the shower. 

"Yup. Thought ya'd know that from the shit you were readin' when ya summoned me. Summonin' a familiar is like a call an' response. You call, an' the boss responded with me. 'At's why it's not a mistake that I'm here, One."

"You know my name?" One asks from the shower, slightly confused but more preoccupied with shampooing  _ all  _ of his hair. Why did he even keep it so long? It was just becoming a hassle at this point.

"Course. I know a  _ lot _ about ya. Like I said before, I was picked to be your perfect match. That an' I already mentioned I specialize in clairvoyance," Orange says.

"Yes, and sex," One says absently, rinsing out his hair. "But if you  _ really  _ know so much about me, you should know I'm busy as hell."

"So ya need help."

"No," One says firmly, pulling back the shower curtain. 

He makes eye contact with Orange for just a moment too long before realizing he's still completely naked. Quickly grabbing a towel, he shoos Orange out of the bathroom and slams the door behind him.

"You're making this way too fucking awkward." 

"Rude," Orange huffs.

* * *

"Kino asked me for help planning Ashita's birthday, so I need to go out today. After that I have a lot of work to do, so...help yourself to whatever you want from the fridge and make sure you shut whatever door you came through on your way out," One says, pulling on his coat. 

"I'm not leavin' that easily," Orange says, but One's resolved to ignore him. "Look, if ya need proof of what I can do, here's a tip. While you're out today, you're gonna see somethin' that hits ya personally. Buy it."

"Vague and unhelpful, but alright," One says, rolling his eyes as he closes the door behind him. 

* * *

"Sorry I'm late," One calls, walking quickly to close the gap of the last few feet between him and Kino.

"Honestly thought maybe you'd stood me up to do this alone," Kino says, but there's a smile on her face. "Three's keeping Ashita busy today, so we can work on decorations too."

"Sounds delightful," One sighs. He's not entirely sure why  _ he's _ the one helping to plan Kino's sister's birthday party when his sister is the one dating her. 

“Aww, chin up, One,” Kino says, giving him an affectionate punch to the shoulder before grabbing his hand and dragging him into the store. 

The ordeal isn’t...particularly painful, as Kino and One had decided to go to an antiques store to find a particular clock for Ashita. One wouldn’t pretend to understand what Ashita’s fascination with clocks was about, but he wasn’t going to complain as it was a slightly more pleasant place to spend the afternoon. The store is quiet for the most part, the only sound the distant conversation between Kino and the store owner about the clock Ashita was enamored by. 

As they talk, One finds himself distracted by a music box on one of the shelves. It’s a simple wooden box with a floral pattern on the lid. Opening it, he hears a familiar song...one he hadn’t heard since childhood. Odd. He didn’t know what their parents had done with anything from his childhood...if it still existed. He couldn’t be even certain any of them  _ survived. _

Still...something about it…

“See something you like, One?” Kino asks, suddenly appearing at his shoulder.

“Ah, no, it’s nothing. It’s just...reminds me of…”

“You should get it then!” Kino says, giving him a bright smile. “I got the clock for Ashita~! Treat yourself~!”

Orange’s words ring in One’s mind, and he hesitates, staring at the music box. He hated to let a cat like that be right about something, but…

“Alright.”

* * *

One opens the door to his apartment, lost in thought about the music box. Hopefully Orange would be gone, and One could just avoid ever having to acknowledge that he was...right. 

“Your milk’s expired,” says Orange, and One sighs.

“You’re still here. Why haven’t you left yet?”

“Didn’t ya hear the part ‘bout namin’ me binds me to this plane?” Orange asks, and One freezes.

Sometimes...he didn’t listen particularly well. He lets out a sigh before continuing down the hallway. He’d find a way to get rid of Orange yet. Or maybe he would just have to accept his fate and the orange tabby that was now intent on following him around. 

"Ya know your bed looks like a cubicle exploded on it, right?" Orange asks as he follows One back to his bedroom.

"When I work from home, it's bound to happen," One says with a shrug, sitting on his bed and sorting through the manuscript he'd left there the night before.

"Beds are for sleepin' an' fuckin' this is a travesty."

"Like it or hate it, I don't really care," One says. "Are you coming up here or not?"

“Didja buy what I told ya about?” Orange asks, jumping up onto the bed next to One. 

One’s gaze drifts to the bag with the music box in it. He’d set it up later, when Orange wasn’t around. He  _ still  _ didn’t want to give the cat the satisfaction of being right. 

* * *

To be fair, One was making significant progress on the Kleinfeld manuscript, summoning experience aside. He’d kicked Orange out of his room to let him work for the time being (Orange had said something about searching his fridge some more anyway), and his gaze falls on the bag holding the music box again. He could spare to take a break...right? 

One gets up from his bed, carefully pulling the music box out of the bag. He winds it up, then opens the lid and sets it on his nightstand. The music is gentle...comforting. It reminds him of a time before… One’s hand drifts again to his left eye. At least he hadn’t put in his contact today, so he didn’t have to worry about taking it back out. 

Before he even gets another page into the manuscript, he finds himself growing tired. Each time he blinks, his eyes stay closed longer than they are open. Until finally he drifts off, the gentle lullaby of the music box luring him to a peaceful sleep. As the music box continues to play, Orange makes his way back into the room, jumping up on the bed and looking over One’s sleeping form. He grabs the blanket in his mouth and pulls it over One before curling up next to him and purring contentedly. 

* * *

The next morning, One awoke to a purring orange tabby next to him. Yet another day with the familiar he never asked for. He runs a hand through Orange’s fur, waking him up and causing him to stretch. He yawns before fixing One with a lazy stare. 

“Time for breakfast?” Orange asks, and One rolls his eyes. 

He doesn’t really think cats can or should eat toast, but Orange isn’t  _ really  _ a cat, and it feels better than feeding him fruit. (Although naming him after a fruit is...honestly, One’s fault.) Orange sits on One’s table in order to eat without them being at two completely different levels. Also considering Orange isn't a  _ real  _ cat, One would just feel guilty making him eat on the floor.

They finish breakfast, and One deposits the plates in the sink to be dealt with later. He returns to the table and sits back down, putting his chin in his hand. 

“Well, since I can’t seem to be rid of you, is there something you want to do?” One asks, giving Orange a tired look. Orange immediately perks up, looking excited.

“Yeah, I wanna see a movie.”

“A...movie?” One asks uncertainly. 

“Yeah! Y’know, movin’ picture? That sorta thing? It’s where ya—"

“I know what a movie is,” One interrupts. “I just. It’s...I can’t take a  _ cat  _ to the movie theater.”

“Ah, that’s not a problem,” Orange says, stretching again. “Cat ain't the only form I can take. Jus' need ya to wear my collar."

One stares blankly at Orange for a brief moment.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"If ya wear my collar, it lets me change my form freely on this plane. But I can't do it without ya," Orange says. "C'mon, it'll look cute on ya."

One gives Orange an irritated look, but unclasps his collar before fastening it around his own neck. Honestly, it didn't look all that different from a plain black choker.

"Now what?" he asks. 

"Concentrate an' focus on my powers," Orange says. "Ya should be able to give me access to shape shiftin'."

One closes his eyes and concentrates, reaching out with magick he had ignored for so long...and breaks through a barrier sealing away some of Orange's magic. There's a shimmer of light around the cat for a moment, and then in his place is...a human. 

He has messy pink hair (which really isn't unusual, considering Kino and her siblings have pink hair), and pink eyes that feel strangely hollow to One. He doesn't look (in One's opinion) anything like the orange tabby he once was. Scars mar his body in a variety of places, but most prominently on his face. As One's gaze drifts down, he feels a blush creeping up on his cheeks.

_ "WHY ARE YOU FUCKING NAKED?" _

"On second thought, maybe I shoulda gotten down from the table first," Orange says, ignoring the question. 

"I'll get you clothes, just—ugh, come on," One says, gesturing for Orange to follow him to the bedroom. Orange spends some time admiring his own physique, but One doesn't exactly want to ask just how long he spent as a cat. 

"You're taller than both me and my sibling…" One says, searching through his closet. Two's clothes were too small, and Three's were even smaller. That wouldn't help in the slightest.

"What, no clothes from an ex?" Orange asks, and One flinches.

"No, just my siblings' clothes...considering how often they spend the night. But Two and Three…" He pauses, then digs further in, looking for something else. "You're about the same height as Zero—his clothes should do."

"Two, Three, an' Zero? Geez, what kinda parents name their kids that shit?" Orange asks, but he (thankfully) takes the clothing offered to him. 

"Zero's not—he's...uh." One stares blankly at the coat Orange is now holding. 

Saying "my sibling's brother" would sound a little odd, considering Three was the one to nickname him Zero. And it wasn't like One didn't think of him as family, Two just...did it first. 

"He's...adopted." 

"Alright," Orange says with a shrug, but he doesn't say anything else, simply heading to the bathroom to get changed. 

In the meantime, One needs a breather. Before now, Orange had just been something of an  _ annoyance.  _ Just a familiar that insisted on hanging around him and being right about the future or whatever and trying to convince One to take up magick again. 

But now, seeing his human form… One buries his face in his hands, trying to cover the blush still running rampant on his cheeks. Orange was... _ cute _ . And One? One had a  _ giant fucking crush on him.  _ He doesn't exactly believe in love at first sight, but… 

_ "The boss hand-picked me to be your familiar." _

Did that mean…?

_ "I specialize in clairvoyance an' sexual domination." _

Was he supposed to—?

Before One can get his thoughts in order, Orange comes back from the bathroom, looking definitively  _ weird  _ in Kaname's black and purple coat. One made a silent resolution to buy Orange some different clothing.

"How many witches have you served before me?" One asks, trying to organize his thoughts before with the weird feeling of seeing him in his "brother's" clothing.

"Sixteen," Orange says. 

"And how many did you have sex with?"

"All of 'em?" Orange says, a somewhat teasing yet also genuine smile on his face. "Now ya ready to go see that movie?"

* * *

The local theater nearest them played older films on weekends, which One thought might be a better idea for someone as old as Orange (though he'd forgotten to ask  _ how _ old) rather than one of the newer films.

" _ Labyrinth _ , huh?" Orange says, looking at the ticket.

"It's a favorite of mine. If you're going to be my...partner, then consider it a rite of passage."

Orange snorts derisively but he doesn't say anything further about it, so One resists the urge to give Orange a light punch to the shoulder.

"It might not be the  _ best _ , and this was before a lot of fancy CGI, so you'll have to forgive it," One says, pausing on their way down the hall of the theater to fill his water bottle at the drinking fountain.

Orange stares after him with a slightly lost look on his face. 

"Th'fuck is CGI?"

* * *

After seeing the movie together, One began taking Orange out more often. First it was to do clothes shopping because Orange could only borrow Kaname's clothes for so long before it got weird. (That amount of time was approximately 30 seconds.) Orange had gotten especially attached to a pair of heart shaped sunglasses, which One thought looked a bit like something Three might wear. 

Once Orange could successfully blend in with a modern crowd, One got a bit braver, going out with Kino to bars and occasionally taking Orange with him. Their first introduction had been slightly awkward, as One had floundered a bit as to what to  _ call  _ Orange, but ultimately Orange had introduced himself.

They wrote it off as a nickname, a joke from long ago that Orange could no longer remember the origins of. Kino had laughed and accepted it...and she'd accepted Orange too. One still had yet to formally introduce Orange to Two or Three (or even Zero, although One really didn't want to let him know about Orange borrowing his clothes). They'd heard he was seeing someone, but that was about it. With One's busy work schedule, they didn't usually have much of a chance to see him. 

Until One was entirely certain about having a familiar, he thought he probably preferred it that way. 

As they grew more comfortable with each other's presence, they began delving further into Orange's  _ other  _ area of expertise, although it was more of Orange showing off his impressive rope tying skills while One was fully clothed. 

“I wanna do a trust exercise with ya,” Orange had said, which had taken One completely by surprise. But here they were, with One already putting plenty of trust in Orange to not completely fuck up his door frame and prevent him from getting his security deposit back. Orange was busy attaching a rope through some form of magick (One wasn’t going to question it if it didn’t leave damage) to the top of the door frame to the bedroom. Once he seemed satisfied, he leaned back on his heels, and gave One a smile. 

“Aight, here’s what we’re gonna do. Ya put your hands on the rope, kay? An’ then...I’ll do whatever ya want me to do to ya. But if ya want me to stop, just take your hands off that rope. Easy, right?” 

“Sure, easy,” One says, and rolls his eyes. He steps forward, positioning himself underneath the rope and reaching up to hold it with both hands.

"Are ya ready?" Orange asks, his hands inches away from One's body. 

"Yes."

Orange removing his clothing is...familiar. Though they had yet to have sex together, or One let Orange remove his clothes before, there was no hesitation. No uncertainty. Orange's hands didn't fumble on the buttons at all, his smooth movements reassuring...that One is in good hands.

He doesn't feel the need to let go of the rope at all, even as Orange reaches his undergarments. He pushes aside One's undershirt, moving it over One's head as best they could. 

"Why don't I—" One lets go of the rope for just a moment, throwing off his several layers before holding onto the rope again.

"Ya got a scar here," Orange says softly, looking at One's chest. 

His touch is gentle, but when he brushes over it, One can't help but flinch. Orange pauses, but One doesn't let go of the rope.

"It's from an...old childhood injury," One says, closing his eyes. "I'd prefer not to think about it too much."

Orange stares at the scar for a moment longer, his face unreadable. Then, he leans down, pressing a gentle kiss to it. One thinks he stops breathing for a moment, but Orange pulls away and One lets out a breath. 

"Ya nearly died from it, huh," Orange asks quietly, but it's more of a statement than an actual question. 

One only finds himself able to nod. Orange doesn't comment on it further, instead kneeling down again to slowly pull off the last of One's clothing. Even though he's naked, One surprisingly doesn't feel uncomfortable at all. Orange's hands are warm on his thighs, and there's something even  _ more  _ gentle about how he begins. 

It's slow, steady, but already makes One feel a  _ variety _ of emotions he hasn't felt  since then. As Orange moves a bit faster, it's all One can do to keep his knees from buckling right then and there. He goes to remove a shaky hand from the rope, but he has to find his voice first.

"Don't... don't stop," he manages to say, and puts his free hand in Orange's hair, encouraging him to go harder. 

It doesn't take long for One to climax, letting out a breathy yell of ecstasy that he hadn't even heard from  _ himself  _ in longer than he cared to admit. He finally lets go of the rope, letting out a shaky breath and giving Orange a smile.

"Thank you. Let me repay the favor—"

"That's alright," Orange interrupts, and One pauses. "Right now I'm more focused on  _ your _ pleasure. But there is somethin' else ya can do for me."

* * *

"Are you sure this is alright?" One asks.

Orange doesn't respond right away. In his cat form again, he's purring as One gives him face rubs and tummy scritches.

"Trust me. Cat pleasures are jus' as nice," Orange hums, and One smiles before pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

* * *

While One had to throw himself back into work, at the very least he could also spare time to relax with Orange later at night. It was exhilarating and freeing all at once—and One... _ loved _ it. At the same time, Orange also helped him with magick again, making prayer candles for good health as a simple test of his skills that hadn't been practiced in years. One was beginning to feel like a witch again. It was odd, but…

It was comforting this time. 

Finally, One decided to take the plunge and ask for the time off he needed just so he could formally make a contract with Orange. Really, it was just going to be a weekend trip to a cabin upstate, but he already had a horrible reputation as a workaholic. 

Ed had gladly approved his time off, telling him that if she caught him replying to a single email while he was out, she would give him the lecture of a lifetime. Kino, meanwhile, had given him a knowing wink and told him to "have fun" and "let loose." Sometimes, One thought he might hate her.

"Ya know we didn't hafta come all the way out to some fancy retreat for this contract, right?" Orange asks as he gets out of the car.

"I know, but...it's special," One says. "Let me have this."

Orange snorts, but he doesn't say anything else about it, opting to follow One inside. The cabin itself is near the woods and has an excellent view of the lake behind it. It was even approved by the city's coven society as an excellent site for witchcraft. 

"I'm going to take a nap after that drive," One says, stretching. "Wake me up for dinner."

"Uh huh, will do sweetheart." 

* * *

One wakes up several hours later than he intended, confused  _ and  _ concerned. Where was Orange? What had happened? 

Heading downstairs, there's no sign of Orange. There  _ is  _ however, a note. 

_ Dinner's in the fridge. Take a walk through the woods to clear your mind. When you're ready, come and find me. _

One lets out a small laugh, shaking his head. He wasn't really all that hungry yet...so maybe he would just take the walk. 

The woods are peaceful, quiet. Everything unlike the city One's accustomed to. And unlike his life recently, until...Orange. Ever since meeting him, One felt like he actually had some form of control over his life. That he wasn't just  _ trapped  _ doing a job that he hadn't even really planned on getting into. But that seemed to be the standard for his life, considering how he'd met Orange.

Unlike his job, though… Unlike every decision he'd consciously made, Orange was  _ different.  _ He made One...happy. And One? One could say with certainty he loved Orange. And he always wanted to be with him. He glances up at the moon that can be barely seen through the foliage before making a decision. It's time to make the contract.

"Orange?" One calls as he enters the cabin, but there's no response. 

He looks in the kitchen, the bedroom, anywhere he can think of, but there's no sign of Orange. He looks at the note again, trying to think if there's any clue as to where Orange could be. 

"Well...he did say 'come and find me'," One mumbles to himself. He looks out the window at the back of the cabin, and smiles. 

Stepping out the back door, he looks up at the sky again. It's a clear night, with the full moon and stars clearly visible without the trees in the way. From their light, he can see the figure of Orange standing in the shallow water of the lake. As One approaches, Orange turns to look at him. 

“So...have ya decided yet?” Orange asks, but his voice is softer than usual...his accent losing its edge. 

“I have,” One says, and he steps forward. He doesn’t take the time to bother with his clothing, stepping willingly into the water to join Orange. “I want to make a contract with you.”

“Alright,” says Orange, and he reaches out his hand to clasp One’s, pulling him closer. 

There was something ethereal and beautiful about Orange in this light. There was a shimmer in his eyes One couldn’t remember ever seeing before. The barest hint of a smile on his face. And his scars...they reminded One of shooting stars. 

“With the moon as your witness, will you...One Fifteen Trevor honor a contract with me, binding me to this plane to serve you as your guide...your companion...your familiar?” Orange asks, his voice low and devoid of his lazy accent. 

“I do,” One says, and a shimmering light swirls around them, finally resting at his neck, tracing a silver circle onto the collar. Their contract was sealed. “So...do we celebrate this with sex?”

“Only if ya want to,” Orange says, his accent immediately coming back now that the moment of solemnity is over.

“Well, it  _ is  _ your speciality. I don’t see why not,” One says with a smirk. He leans forward to kiss Orange, relishing in the feeling of having his familiar so close to him.

Without so much as another word exchanged between them, the two headed back to the cabin, One’s hand tracing over the silver circle on his collar. It was a reminder of them. Of what  _ they  _ had. It had been so long since he’d been able to relax, and feel like he could love someone the way he had loved… It didn’t matter, really. That was the past. And here and now...Orange was his future. 


End file.
